Peter McGrail books Gold Coast final spot against Northern Ireland

Peter McGrail of England and Samuel Yaw Addo of Ghana compete in the Men's 56kg Quarterfinal Boxing on day six of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games at Oxenford Studios on April 10, 2018 on the Gold Coast, Australia (Image: Chris Hyde/Getty Images)

Peter McGrail stepped up his chase for Commonwealth glory with a semi-final victory on Friday.

The 21-year-old bagged a bronze medal earlier this week with a win in the quarter-final of the 56kg bantamweight category against Ghana.

McGrail arrived Down Under as one of England’s best medal hopes, having won European gold and bronze at the World Championships, and took a five-round win over Samuel Yaw Addo to clinch an honour.

The Everton Red Triangle man, hindered by a large swelling to the left side of the head, advanced to the final with a convincing showing against India’s Hussamuddin Mohammed, who was cut in the second round.

But McGrail, who stopped Kenya’s Benson Njangiru in the round of 16, will fight in the final at the Oxenford Studios on Saturday to bring home at least a silver after a 5:0 decision win over the 24-year-old soldier in the Indian army, who booked his place in the semi-final with a pair of points decisions against boxers from Vanuatu and Zambia.

Kurt Walker of Northern Ireland will be the man in the opposite corner in the showpiece, after he beat Canada’s Eric Basran in the other semi-final in a 3:2 split.

Walker, 23, is a seven-time national champion and won bronze at last year’s European Championships in which McGrail won gold.

He impressed throughout the Gold Coast tournament with wins against fighters from Australia and Lesotho.